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Books by and about 2020 presidential candidates |
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Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015) |
United,
by Cory Booker (2016) |
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019) |
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010) |
Guide to Political Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2017) |
Where We Go From Here,
by Bernie Sanders (2018) |
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017) |
Conscience of a Conservative,
by Jeff Flake (2017) |
Two Paths,
by Gov. John Kasich (2017) |
Every Other Monday,
by Rep. John Kasich (2010) |
Courage is Contagious,
by John Kasich (1998) |
Shortest Way Home,
by Pete Buttigieg (2019) |
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden) |
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018) |
Our Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2016) |
This Fight Is Our Fight,
by Elizabeth Warren (2017) |
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017) |
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Books by and about the 2016 presidential election |
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What Happened ,
by Hillary Clinton (2017) |
Higher Loyalty ,
by James Comey (2018) |
Trump vs. Hillary On The Issues ,
by Jesse Gordon (2016) |
Hard Choices,
by Hillary Clinton (2014) |
Becoming ,
by Michelle Obama (2018) |
Outsider in the White House,
by Bernie Sanders (2015) |
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Book Reviews |
(from Amazon.com) |
(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)
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| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Abortion
Eric Brakey: Pro-life, and anti-ObamaCare.
Eric Brakey: Oppose funding Planned Parenthood; require parental consent.
Shawn Moody: Strongly pro-life: opposes any tax dollars for abortion.
Zak Ringelstein: Publicly-funded reproductive healthcare for women.
Chris Lyons: Life is precious; abortion only if maternal life at risk.
Chris Lyons: Oppose abortion as an unrestricted right.
Mary Mayhew: Ban abortions after 20 weeks, like most developed nations.
Janet Mills: No comment on lawsuit to expand abortion access.
Susan Collins: Joined Democrats to fund Planned Parenthood.
Bruce Poliquin: Pro-life and proud of it.
Mike Michaud: Evolved from pro-life to pro-choice over period of 30 years.
Eliot Cutler: Unequivocally pro-choice; allow abortions via MaineCare.
Charlie Summers: Must consider incest or rape.
Angus King: Favors abortion rights; opposes defunding Planned Parenthood.
Charlie Summers: Abortions should always be legal.
Charlie Summers: Funding for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines.
Matt Dunlap: Abortions should always be legally available.
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Budget & Economy
Chris Lyons: Market-led recovery better than stimulus.
Eric Brakey: The government takes enough; we shouldn't raise taxes.
Eric Brakey: Not just for economic freedom but also personal freedom.
Mary Mayhew: Reduce taxes by deep budget cuts including family services.
Bruce Poliquin: Build a less intrusive and less expensive federal government.
Paul LePage: Make the tough decisions to let American Dream survive.
Charlie Summers: Bailouts and stimulus create $16T debt with no end in sight.
Charlie Summers: Wasteful spending, even on military, should be eliminated.
Matt Dunlap: Shore up availability of credit to stimulate job creation.
Matt Dunlap: Shore up availability of credit to stimulate job creation.
Tom Allen: Bush administration’s debt has failed middle-class America.
Susan Collins: We tried & failed in 2005 to tighten mortgage regulations.
Tom Allen: Driving up debt & unbridled free market caused bank crisis.
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Civil Rights
Eric Brakey: Leave transgender bathroom policy up to local school board.
Zak Ringelstein: Supports women's rights and equal pay for equal work.
Chris Lyons: Education will achieve affirmative action, not law.
Chris Lyons: Government should have no say on same-sex marriage.
Chris Lyons: Comfortable with same-sex marriage.
Paul LePage: Confederate monuments are about a war for land.
Janet Mills: Decries proposal to eliminate Civil Rights Funding.
Eliot Cutler: Worked to uphold a law legalizing same-sex marriage.
Mike Michaud: Would be 1st openly gay governor; but evolved on LGBT rights.
Eliot Cutler: Early and vocal supporter of Maine's marriage equality.
Charlie Summers: Marriage is between a man and a woman.
Angus King: Supports gay marriage.
Charlie Summers: No same-sex marriage; defined by Constitutional Amendment.
Charlie Summers: Affirmative action ok, but not in contracting decisions.
Matt Dunlap: Include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws.
Matt Dunlap: Affirmative action ok, but not on state contracts.
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Corporations
Shawn Moody: Address red tape; focus on recruiting businesses.
Shawn Moody: Run the state like I've run my business.
Mary Mayhew: Keeping government out of business creates good paying jobs.
Eric Brakey: Cut $400M in corporate welfare & return it to the people.
Janet Mills: Won $21.5M settlement against S&P's mortgage practices.
Eliot Cutler: Examine corporate tax breaks; avoid clawbacks by better deal.
Paul LePage: Capital investment goes where it is welcomed.
Paul LePage: Depreciate bonuses; reduce business tax rate to under 8%.
Susan Collins: Excess corporate pay rewards risk-taking over results.
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Crime
Shawn Moody: Law enforcement needs all the right tools to catch criminals.
Chris Lyons: Stricter punishment doesn't reduce crime.
Eric Brakey: Being pro-life is why I oppose the death penalty.
Mary Mayhew: imprisonment for life as a deterrent to crime.
Eliot Cutler: Assure support services for victims of domestic violence.
Paul LePage: Victim's Compensation Fund to address domestic violence.
Charlie Summers: Mandatory jail for drug crimes; penalties for online crimes.
Charlie Summers: Supports the federal death penalty.
John Baldacci: End parole for repeat violent offenders.
Cynthia Dill: Alternative penalties for non-violent offenders.
Matt Dunlap: Alternative penalties for non-violent offenders.
Angus King: Opposes the death penalty.
Angus King: More prisons, but more alternative sentencing.
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Drugs
Shawn Moody: Strengthen criminal code & stem tide of illegal trafficking.
Zak Ringelstein: Fighting Opioid epidemic begins with pharmaceutical reform.
Chris Lyons: Marijuana isn't a gateway drug.
Paul LePage: Veto implementation of regulated marijuana market.
Charlie Baker: Opposed legalizing marijuana, but implemented it once passed.
Eric Brakey: Supports Question 1: implement regulated marijuana market.
Mike Thibodeau: Supports Question 1: implement regulated marijuana market.
Janet Mills: Investigate role of opioid manufacturers in drug abuse.
Mary Mayhew: Joint effort needed to provide effective drug treatment.
Eric Brakey: Supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
Paul LePage: Oppose legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
Eliot Cutler: Legal pot makes drugs seem ok, but prohibition isn't working.
Mike Michaud: Legal pot makes drug more accessible to children and teens.
Paul LePage: Upholding the law includes illegal marijuana.
Shenna Bellows: Supports marijuana legalization.
Eliot Cutler: Legalizing marijuana sends message that drug use is OK.
Mike Michaud: Real concerns about the impact of pot legalization on kids.
Shenna Bellows: Three past presidents acknowledged use; legalize pot.
Susan Collins: Declines to take sides in marijuana legalization petition.
Paul LePage: Mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients.
Charlie Summers: Mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
Susan Collins: Provide prison inmates with drug addiction treatment.
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Education
Eric Brakey: Competition will improve our schools.
Shawn Moody: Parental and local control in education curriculum.
Zak Ringelstein: Do away with school privatization; invest in public schools.
Mary Mayhew: Parents should have access to multiple education choices.
Chris Lyons: Vouchers for school choice.
Janet Mills: Commission on Education Reform must follow open meetings law.
Bruce Poliquin: Expand from 10 charters to more parental choices.
Eric Brakey: Support private schools, charter schools, or homeschooling.
Eliot Cutler: Try out Common Core standards before tweaking them.
Paul LePage: 2011: Signed onto Common Core, but now skeptical.
Shenna Bellows: Voucher programs siphon public school money.
Eliot Cutler: Cautious support for virtual charter schools.
Paul LePage: Strong support for charter schools, virtual or otherwise.
Paul LePage: Virtual charter schools are not the right answer.
Eliot Cutler: Earlier schooling; longer school year; more school funding.
Eliot Cutler: Pay it Forward, Pay it Back: tuition-free college.
Charlie Summers: Supports vouchers, charters, magnet schools, standard tests.
Cynthia Dill: More funding for schools, teachers, and Head Start.
Angus King: More teacher development; more school construction.
Angus King: Include both abstinence and safe sex in sex-ed.
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Energy & Oil
Shawn Moody: Door's open to renewable energy, but no subsidies.
Chris Lyons: Oppose prioritizing green energy.
Mary Mayhew: Wind energy needs transparent commission, not moratorium.
Janet Mills: Wean ourselves off fossil fuels.
Bruce Poliquin: Fully develop all sources of domestic energy.
Paul LePage: Build a natural gas pipeline from Canada.
Eliot Cutler: Burning fossil fuels is more and more problematic.
Paul LePage: Global warming helps Maine by opening north shipping lanes.
Shenna Bellows: Green energy solutions instead of nuclear energy.
Eliot Cutler: Reduce carbon emissions to Kyoto Protocol targets.
Charlie Summers: Off-shore exploration for oil, plus nuclear and coal.
Cynthia Dill: Encourage conservation and renewable energy.
Charlie Summers: High gas and oil prices threaten our economy.
Matt Dunlap: Invest in weatherization programs and maintain LIHEAP.
Charlie Summers: Develop oil and natural gas here on American soil.
Susan Collins: Double funding for low-income home weatherization programs.
Tom Allen: 1%-interest loan for home weatherization projects.
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Environment
Shawn Moody: Voluntarily adopted eco-friendly practices at Moody's.
Angus King: Support EPA brownfield program for industrial cleanup.
Zak Ringelstein: Believes in climate change and protecting our environment.
Mary Mayhew: Environmental stewardship that also respects businesses.
Chris Lyons: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach.
Paul LePage: Land preservation reduces tax revenue.
Janet Mills: Joins coalition to reject proposed cuts in funding to EPA.
Eliot Cutler: Helped Senator Ed Muskie craft the Clean Air Act.
Paul LePage: Abstain from EPA petition to cut Midwest emissions.
Mike Michaud: AdWatch: Replace LePage with a pro-environment governor.
Eliot Cutler: More bus services, dedicated HOV lanes, and bike routes.
John Baldacci: 2003: Vetoed ban on foreign workers in logging industry.
Paul LePage: Vetoed ban on foreign workers in logging industry.
Paul LePage: Change environmental laws to replace red tape with jobs.
Paul LePage: Stop manufacturer recycling; start cost-benefit analyses.
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Families & Children
Zak Ringelstein: Commit to fully funding disability programs.
Zak Ringelstein: Families are the backbones to society and need full support.
Eliot Cutler: Empower women to succeed at home and at work.
Shenna Bellows: Ran micro-credit program for Women in Development.
Paul LePage: Vetoed right to breast-fed at work.
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Foreign Policy
Zak Ringelstein: America is best when working for global peace & partnerships.
Chris Lyons: Oppose American Exceptionalism.
Eric Brakey: Crazy that we have our troops in 177 different countries.
Eric Brakey: Deposing secular dictators in Mid-East empowers our enemies.
Eliot Cutler: China's future is like America in 1890s: booming and growing.
Shenna Bellows: Served for two years in Peace Corps, in Panama.
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Free Trade
Zak Ringelstein: Protect economy from harmful international trade agreements.
Chris Lyons: Support & expand free trade.
Bruce Poliquin: Promote trade and investment opportunities.
Shenna Bellows: NAFTA damaged our manufacturing sector; so will TPP.
Charlie Summers: I support free trade, but protect shoe factories.
Cynthia Dill: Keep tariffs against foreign products that compete unfairly.
Charlie Summers: Free trade yes, but sanctions on Venezuela.
Susan Collins: Some trade agreements have resulted in more tariffs.
Tom Allen: Review existing trade agreements that damaged US economy.
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Government Reform
Zak Ringelstein: Ultra rich are buying our elected leaders & control policy.
Chris Lyons: Make voter registration easier.
Zak Ringelstein: Protect democracy from corrupting influence of big money.
Bruce Poliquin: 12-year term limit on members of Congress.
Paul LePage: Investigate and report publicly on false campaign statements.
Shenna Bellows: Funding her campaign $5 at a time from local events.
Eliot Cutler: Oppose all efforts to restrict access to the ballot box.
Susan Collins: Outrageous for IRS to target Tea Party groups.
Charlie Summers: OpEd: Pushes for voter registration, with his name on ballot.
Susan Collins: Reform public financing system to get more opt-in.
Janet Mills: Let college students vote where they attend college.
John Baldacci: Limit political campaign donations.
Matt Dunlap: No campaign donation limits; just disclosure.
Angus King: Restrict and disclose all campaign donations & spending.
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Gun Control
Eric Brakey: Oppose background checks for individual gun transfers.
Shawn Moody: Pro 2nd Amendment; wants armed officials in high schools.
Zak Ringelstein: Most Americans wants gun control but NRA stops it.
Chris Lyons: Absolute right to gun ownership.
Mary Mayhew: Pro gun ownership and armed guards wherever needed.
Eric Brakey: The second amendment is essential for liberty.
Eric Brakey: Bipartisan Republican leads the charge to less gun control.
Bruce Poliquin: Strong supporter of the Second Amendment.
Eliot Cutler: Restrict access to firearms via universal background checks.
Shenna Bellows: Was NRA member, but left because they became too extreme.
Angus King: Supports gun rights.
Charlie Summers: Allow individuals to carry concealed guns.
John Baldacci: Allow concealed carry.
Matt Dunlap: Ease or repeal restrictions on purchase & possession of guns.
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Health Care
Shawn Moody: Wants health insurance open to competition amongst states.
Shawn Moody: Citizen referendum decided Medicaid expansion: make it work.
Zak Ringelstein: ObamaCare helped; but supports Medicare single payer.
Chris Lyons: Insurance companies benefit from ObamaCare; people don't.
Chris Lyons: Oppose ObamaCare.
Paul LePage: Budgetary limits on Medicaid expansion.
Mary Mayhew: Absolutely opposed to Medicaid expansion.
Janet Mills: Her office took on drug manufacturer Mylan on price gouging.
Eric Brakey: Do better than backdoor deals that led to ObamaCare.
Eric Brakey: Apply principles of freedom to broken healthcare system.
Bruce Poliquin: Replace ObamaCare with cross-state & group insurance.
Shenna Bellows: Supports ObamaCare & universal health coverage.
Eliot Cutler: Universal access to essential health care services.
Cynthia Dill: Medicaid and Medicare programs need to be strengthened.
Charlie Summers: 100% deductible cross-state insurance instead of ObamaCare.
Matt Dunlap: ObamaCare individual mandate is constitutional.
Paul LePage: MaineCare recipients contribute to statewide health coverage.
John Baldacci: Ensure access to basic health care.
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Homeland Security
Shawn Moody: Stand behind veterans: offer school, jobs and services.
Zak Ringelstein: Veterans need homes and proper health care; they earned it.
Mary Mayhew: Veterans should get all benefits earned, in a timely manner.
Chris Lyons: Don't expand the military.
Eric Brakey: Apply limited government philosophy to the military.
Bruce Poliquin: NSA tracking of US citizens violates 4th Amendment.
Bruce Poliquin: Top spending priority is full financing of military.
Shenna Bellows: NSA should target only based on individualized suspicion.
Susan Collins: Increase transparency of NSA but keep NSA programs.
Susan Collins: Mass surveillance justified by national security.
Susan Collins: Mass unwarranted surveillance is never justified.
Shenna Bellows: We cannot afford to be the world's policemen.
Shenna Bellows: No spying on foreign leaders NOR on ordinary Americans.
Shenna Bellows: Snowden was a whistle-blower, not a criminal.
Susan Collins: No justification for spying on Germany's chancellor.
Susan Collins: Cuts in defense are very troubling to me personally.
Paul LePage: Wreaths Across America: thank our men and women in uniform.
Angus King: Ok to target suspected terrorists outside of war zones.
Cynthia Dill: Cut military spending such as weapons systems.
Cynthia Dill: Opposes unlimited detention of terror suspects.
Charlie Summers: Bath Iron Works & Kittery Naval Shipyard are indispensable.
Charlie Summers: Military tribunals for terrorists; deploy National Guard.
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Immigration
Shawn Moody: Work with federal officials against illegal immigrants.
Zak Ringelstein: Welcomes immigrants as assets to both society and economy.
Chris Lyons: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens.
Eric Brakey: Secure the border and keep immigrants off welfare.
Mary Mayhew: Slash funds for new immigrants & asylum seekers.
Janet Mills: Condemns President's ban on refugees.
Bruce Poliquin: Legal immigration is good for America; illegal isn't.
Paul LePage: Build border fence as high as the Great Wall of China.
Paul LePage: Welcome immigrants, but no welfare for legal non-citizens.
Charlie Summers: No citizenship for illegals; yes temporary worker visas.
Sarah Palin: Has not often expressed views on illegal immigration.
Jean Hay Bright: Clamp down on undocumented workers via employers.
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Jobs
Eric Brakey: Oppose increasing minimum wage; it takes out the bottom rung.
Jared Golden: Fought for fair and equal pay, in state legislature.
Shawn Moody: Make it easier for job creators: create a service hotline.
Zak Ringelstein: Create jobs by investment in land grants and infrastructure.
Chris Lyons: Oppose affirmative action in hiring.
Paul LePage: Are low-wage call-center jobs the kind we want?
Paul LePage: Vetoed incrementally raising the state's minimum wage.
Mike Michaud: AdWatch: Unions endorse Michaud "to represent Maine workers".
Shenna Bellows: Increase minimum wage to make it a living wage.
Eliot Cutler: Zealously guard against interference in unionization efforts.
Paul LePage: Reduce red tape for permitting for principled job creators.
Angus King: Keep 900 shoe factory jobs in Maine.
Jean Hay Bright: Raise the minimum wage, then adjust it annually.
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Principles & Values
Chris Lyons: Personal belief in God is fine; government action is not.
Chris Lyons: Keep God in the public sphere.
Shenna Bellows: Calls herself a progressive libertarian.
Shenna Bellows: Head of Maine ACLU, and community organizer.
Susan Collins: Focuses on seniority & forging bipartisan solutions.
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Social Security
Zak Ringelstein: Social Security needs expansion; seniors need more benefits.
Chris Lyons: Privatize Social Security.
Bruce Poliquin: Adjustments to future retirees, but not current ones.
Shenna Bellows: Scrap the Cap: highest-paid Americans pay their fair share.
Shenna Bellows: Scrap the cap; apply payroll tax over $113,700.
Paul LePage: Keep our promise; don't tax Social Security.
Mike Michaud: Soc. Sec. & Medicare secure retirement; they're not welfare.
Paul LePage: Medicare and Social Security are really just welfare.
Eliot Cutler: Support & strengthen the foundations for Social Security.
Charlie Summers: Remove disability coverage from Social Security.
Cynthia Dill: Stop raiding Social Security Trust Fund.
Matt Dunlap: Remove cap on earnings to sustain system.
Scott D`Amboise: Option to invest in private retirement program.
Charlie Summers: Invest portion of workers' payroll tax in private accounts.
Jean Hay Bright: “Promote the General Welfare” is our founding principle.
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Tax Reform
Eric Brakey: No additional 3% tax on income above $200,000.
Shawn Moody: Tight N'Up spending; reduce income tax; provide transparency.
Shawn Moody: You can't tax young people if we want to attract them here.
Zak Ringelstein: GOP tax bill did little for those that needed it the most.
Chris Lyons: Oppose higher taxes on the wealthy.
Mary Mayhew: Cut tax burden for employers.
Eric Brakey: Voted against raising the lodging tax to 10.5%.
Bruce Poliquin: Reduce taxes to create jobs.
Eliot Cutler: Shift burden from property tax as part of strategic reform.
Cynthia Dill: Require the wealthy to pay their fair share.
Paul LePage: End marriage penalty; increase personal exemptions.
Angus King: Decrease income taxes, but no flat tax.
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Technology
Eliot Cutler: Invest capital in our backbone infrastructure.
Shenna Bellows: "Total Information Awareness" undermines our democracy.
Paul LePage: New website to see how Maine tax dollars are spent.
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War & Peace
Chris Lyons: Avoid foreign entanglements.
Eric Brakey: Learn from the past: we don't need another Mideast war.
Bruce Poliquin: Congress' approval before going to war; stay out of Syria.
Charlie Summers: Iraq & Afghanistan have taken a turn for the positive.
Cynthia Dill: Afghanistan is not as irresponsible as was Iraq.
Matt Dunlap: Iraq war was poorly thought out and enormously expensive.
Scott D`Amboise: Time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan.
Matt Dunlap: We cannot stand by while Syria slaughters its citizens.
Charlie Summers: Keep troop levels high in Iraq until "peace surge".
Charlie Summers: More support for Afghanistan; more sanctions for North Korea.
Susan Collins: Exert economic pressure on Iran to stop its nuclear program.
Tom Allen: We need strong economic sanctions against Iran.
Sarah Palin: Generally supportive of America’s presence in Iraq.
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Welfare & Poverty
Shawn Moody: Lifetime cap on welfare; with strong fraud detection.
Paul LePage: Expanding welfare entitlements is not compassionate.
Mary Mayhew: Time limits on welfare benefits, to promote employment.
Mary Mayhew: Auditor: DHHS improperly managed federal welfare funds.
Janet Mills: Demands release of publically funded welfare study.
Eric Brakey: Disallow using food stamps to purchase junk food.
Bruce Poliquin: War on Poverty has failed after spending $16 trillion.
Paul LePage: Give people in need a hand up; don't give unneeded hand-outs.
Eliot Cutler: We need welfare reform but not demonization of recipients.
Paul LePage: Maine grew at 0.8% if we discount federal welfare payments.
Paul LePage: Maine's TANF welfare system is too generous.
Eliot Cutler: Never abandon citizens who are unemployed, ill, or hungry.
Shenna Bellows: No one in Washington stands up for people who are hurting.
Paul LePage: End welfare-on-day-one: No instant eligibility for benefits.
Charlie Summers: Welfare recipients must work or train 40 hours a week.
Susan Collins: Block grants for state and local flexibility in welfare.
Cynthia Dill: Increased work requirements for able-bodied recipients.
Matt Dunlap: Expand state services to include the working poor.
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